In recent years, OCR devices and computers having the OCR function for optically reading out graphic forms, letters, characters and the like and forming images thereof, and comparing the images with reference patterns of graphic forms, letters, characters and the like to recognize the images as specific graphic forms, letters, characters and the like, have become widespread. With the spread of the OCR capable of transforming the letters or characters written by human beings on data entry sheets into an electronic form, data processing operations have been accelerated.
Meanwhile, the OCR device is required to handle various kinds of graphic forms, letters, characters and the like in a great amount, and thus, there is a possibility of false recognition. This creates a need for an operator to visually check the recognition results of the OCR device and correct the results of false recognition. However, a problem arises wherein in this correcting process, operators are required to check all the recognition results, so that increased working efficiency is desired, and but increasing the working efficiency may lead to greater load of operators.
Patent Document 1 listed below discloses an inspection method wherein, as shown in FIG. 14, character images that were recognized by OCR to be the same characters are displayed and checked at once so as to improve working efficiency. As shown in FIG. 14, character images that were recognized by OCR to be “2” are displayed all together in an area 1, while those recognized by OCR to be “3” are displayed all together in an area 2. An operator performs visual inspection of the character images displayed in area 1 or area 2 while moving the line of sight in a lateral direction, finds any character images falsely recognized (i.e., foreign matters) therefrom, and corrects the false recognition results. In this technique, visual inspection can be performed collectively for the specific character images, so that the working efficiency in finding the false recognition results improves.
With the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, however, the operator is required to move the line of sight in the lateral direction during the visual inspection. Thus, there is the risk of oversight of the character images or skipping of the rows to be inspected due to such gaze movement. Furthermore, with a large amount of gaze movement of the operator, the problem of large work burden on the operator remains unsolved.
Further, Patent Document 2 listed below discloses an inspection method wherein, as shown in FIG. 15, character images recognized by OCR are continuously displayed on an image confirmation portion in series. According to the method disclosed in Patent Document 2, the character images of the same recognition results are displayed in series on the “image confirmation portion” at the lower right in FIG. 15, and then made to flow (in the direction shown by an arrow) to a list display portion provided on its left.
When the operator watching the image confirmation portion finds a false recognition result, he/she performs a stop operation. After the operator finds the false recognition result, by the time when the stop operation is completed, the false recognition result will move to the list display portion. However, the relevant false recognition result is displayed on the list display portion, so that the operator can find it to mark or correct it.
According to the inspection method of Patent Document 2, the operator is allowed to fix the line of sight at the area of the image confirmation portion, which can reduce strain on the operator's eyes compared to the method of Patent Document 1. However, if the number of places in the image confirmation portion is increased to improve the working efficiency, the risk of oversight of the false recognition results by the operator would increase accordingly, so that the flow speed of the character images cannot be increased. Further, in the case of letters, such as numerical figures, of which outer shapes may suffer deformation to a great extent, instantaneous judgment would be difficult, in which case the speed of inspection would considerably decrease and the operator's burden would increase as well. The operator is required to gaze the image confirmation portion unblinkingly. As such, it cannot necessarily be said that the operator's burden is reduced.
[Patent Document 1] U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,875
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Document (Kokai) No. 2004-038348